Emerging
Church Leader, Brian McLaren, Promotes: Islam and Christianity
Reach the Same God During Mystical Experiences
New
Book by Tony Campolo says mysticism [contemplative
prayer] will unite Christianity and Islam.
According
to Tony Campolo, in his book Speaking My Mind,
he has several suggestions for Christians - the bottom
line is he believes we need to "redefine ourselves,"...
"recast our opinions," and "entertain the possibility
that we might be in error" about particular issues.
He says we need to stop being so stubborn about these
issues. What are those issues he speaks of? They are
everything from mysticism
to homosexuality
and an array of other changes we need to make in
our attitudes, behaviors and ideas. With regard to mysticism
(contemplative prayer) he believes, "mysticism provides
some hope for common ground between Christianity and
Islam." He asks and then later answers the question,
"Could they (Islamic Sufis) have encountered the same
God we do in our Christian mysticism?" His answer -
of course! Sound like Thomas
Merton? It should. Campolo emulates Merton, Schuller
and a host of other New
Age, mystical leaders all rolled into one. And as
far as he is concerned, the real problem for the whole
world lies with "rigid" Christians who believe in the
possibility of Jesus' soon return. According to Campolo,
they are to blame for wars, and a host of other evils
in the world. I am reminded, as I read his book, of
Alice
Bailey and Barbara
Marx Hubbard,whose clear and obvious hostility towards
believers shouted out from the pages of their writings.
The
most alarming thing about this book is that Brian
McLaren's name is on the back cover, telling us
the book is a "great bargain" and that Campolo's voice
is one that "needs to be heard." Brian McLaren, named
recently by Time magazine as one of 25 most influential
evangelicals, is also considered the statesman and
leader for the fast growing emerging
church movement, which is just a disguised Trojan
horse for contemplative
prayer with a close connection to Richard
Foster, Rick
Warren and other contemplatives. Remove the contemplative,
mystical element from the emerging church and you
have nothing more than couches and candles. While
many of the young people in this movement may be searching
for a more genuine faith and cannot be criticized
for that, we believe the leaders, such as McLaren,
are leading thousands astray, whether they realize
it or not. If McLaren agrees with Tony Campolo, and
he must or he wouldn't have said so, then great deception
is lurking around the corner and many are heading
right into trouble and into a belief system that shouts
All Paths Lead to the Same God. And as for believers
who refuse to recast their opinions or redefine
their views that Jesus Christ is the only way
of salvation and access to the living God, hold on
to your hats - it's going to be a rocky ride.
If
you haven't read Day
of No Return, we suggest you do. It is a true
story of Christians in Germany in the 1930s and just
what happened to those who stood for the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
